Mining culture, life for laughs

It was a disappointing start to Valentine’s Day night when my attempt to eat rice and spice before this show had to be aborted because my local Thai restaurant was too busy to fulfil my order in time.

Thankfully, there was no shortage of laughs from Ting Lim, the 50 per cent Rice, and Sandeep Totlani, the 50% Spice, of the Queensland show making its Fringe World debut this year.

Each set was short and punchy, underpinned by their shared experiences of being new to Australia and disappointing their parents.

Lim’s droll style won the crowd over quickly as she riffed on growing up in Singapore, her attempts to smuggle Hubba Bubba into the country when she was 12 and the joys of being able to afford a car once she moved to Brisbane.

She didn’t mind an F bomb or three as she explained her lazy attitude to sex, playing the race card and her theories on why cats and cyclists are terrible.

Lim’s edgy style made me think if I was her boyfriend, I wouldn’t want to cross her. She’d think up some clever/evil comeuppance.

Totali was a dentist in India but is unable to practice here because clearly Indian and Australian teeth are very different, right?

So instead he has worked odd jobs, in a bar and in retail, all part of his plan to "steal jobs" from Aussies, one at a time.

Weight, religion, arranged marriages and curry all went into the mix but some of the funniest moments came from Totali’s belief that he is always being watched by immigration so he needs to lie to impress people.

His thoughts on India’s answer to dealing with allergies and traffic were also pretty funny.